Buring the Candle at Both Ends
by aims2009
Summary: So I'm pretending that the ending of the movie didn't happen in this fic! Finals are coming up and Jackie is having a hard time juggling everything. Will Catherine help or make things worse? Rated T for mild language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own anything! So I'm pretending that the ending of the movie didn't happen in this fic! Finals are coming up and Jackie is having a hard time juggling everything. Will Catherine help or make things worse?**

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Jackie's eyes slowly fluttered opened and in an instant she knew something was wrong. Was there normally this much sun light coming through her window in the morning? She grabbed her phone and yelled, 'shit' when she saw that it was 8:50am. Her first class started at 9am and she couldn't be late to her psych class. She knew if she was late she would for sure be lectured by Catherine. She wasn't normally one for skipping class or not doing her homework, but she did occasionally skip her geography class to try and get caught up on other homework. As she rushed to her class she looked at her phone, not surprisingly she had three unread texts, both from the professor she would be seeing soon. The first one read:  
_7:30 am 'Good morning porcupine, can't wait to see your face in class'_ This made Jackie smile as she hustled to get to class.

_8:00 am 'I hope you're not planning on skipping my class Miss Kirk'_

_8:45am 'Seriously? I better see you class!'_

Jackie ran the rest of the way to class and stopped when she got to the door, luckily the door had a little window on it and she could see in and she noticed that even though it was 9:05 students weren't fully seated yet. Maybe she could get away with it. She quickly walked in and found her usual seat by her friends. As she sat down she caught the eye of her professor who mouthed the words, 'you're late.' Jackie just sheepishly mouthed back, 'sorry.'

Normally the young student was hooked on every word that Catherine said during lecture, but today she found herself doodling in her notebook just to stay awake. Jackie was just praying to get through the hour and fifteen minute lecture so she could go to the coffee shop and get some caffeine before her next class. Finally, she heard those words that all students love to hear, "Ok class that wraps it up for today, see you Thursday." She knew she should talk to Catherine and explain why she hadn't responded to her texts but she only had a few minutes before her next class. She tried to sneak out with her friends when she heard, "Miss Kirk, may I have a word with you?" Of course she got a look from all her friends that said, 'glad it's you and not me' and before her one friend left, she asked, "So we'll see you for study group tonight right?" Jackie had to think for a second, "Uh yeah that should be fine." Jackie walked over to her professor's desk and quietly watched as she was putting her papers away. "What's up?" Jackie finally said growing impatient.

"Are you ok? You're never late for class, even by just a few minutes."

Jackie took a deep breath trying not to get frustrated. She knew that Catherine only had her best interests at heart, but in this moment she didn't feel like being lectured. "Yea I'm fine, I just overslept. I would love to stay and chat, but I need to get going otherwise I'm going to be late for another class." She started to walk away when she felt Catherine's hand on her arm. "Jackie..."

Jackie cut her off before she could finish her sentence, "Catherine, really I'm fine. I'll call you later." With that she took off to the coffee shop. On her brisk walk there she suddenly felt bad for being so short with Catherine. After she ordered her drink she decided to send her a text to apologize.

_I'm sorry about that. I'm just really tired. Chat later? _

She heard her name called and walked up to get her coffee, she only had 6 minutes to get to her next class. Thankfully she made it to her seat just as her professor was walking into the classroom. The caffeine was starting to kick and she began writing notes. About half way through the lecture she saw her phone light up with a message. She instantly smiled, hoping it was from Catherine.

_I just worry about you :) Of course, want to stop by my office after 4?_

It was the week before finals and time was very precious, but so was Catherine. Jackie was having a hard time balancing everything right now, friends, studying and Catherine. She desperately just wanted to be with her girlfriend, all curled up on the couch enjoying a drink and each other, but that would all have to wait till after finals. After a few minutes of debating how to fit everything in, she finally responded.

_I can stop by for a few minutes. I've got a lab till 4 and a group meeting at 4:30. _

_Sounds great, see you then. _

The rest of the day went by pretty quick, during her break she spent time in the library working on a study guide for her Geography final.

During her lab, she tried to get done as soon as possible so she could head over to see Catherine. She hated that her time was so limited. She texted Catherine to let her know she would be there a few minutes early. When she got to Catherine's office the door was closed. Since they were on campus she tried be as discreet as possible. "Professor Stark?" She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. "Doors open, come in." She opened the door and saw the pretty blonde sitting behind her desk working on papers. Catherine quickly stood up and walked over to Jackie. Just as Jackie closed the door she was swept up in a hug by Catherine. Jackie just relished the moment with a huge grin on her face. When the two finally separated, Jackie said, "Thanks, I needed that. Today has been crazy and it's not even over yet." She walked over to the couch that was in the office and sat down. Catherine just smiled and walked over and sat next to her. "Just so you know, it sounds very sexy when you say 'Professor Stark.' Jackie just gave small smile back to the professor. "You seemed pretty stressed earlier. Have you eaten today?" It was simple question, yet Jackie had to do some serious thinking to answer the question. "Um….yes…wait…no. I just haven't had the time. I typically eat after Stats class, but I was in the library instead." Suddenly Jackie's eyes were feeling very heavy, even though she had just finished her second cup of coffee. Catherine gave her the 'I'm about to give you a lecture' look when Jackie intervened. "I know, I know, I'll eat after my group meeting and before my study group."

"No, you're going to eat something now, you have some time before your group meeting." Jackie knew better than to argue with Catherine and just nodded as she stood up. "How about a turkey sandwich?" "Ok, sure. Thanks" With that Catherine was gone.

For the second time today Jackie woke up oddly confused, she vaguely heard her phone go off and wondered what time it was. She about had a heart attack when she saw that it was 4:45pm. No wonder she woke up to texts asking where she was. "Holy shit! Catherine, did you know what time it was? Why didn't you wake me?" Jackie was scrambling to get her things ready and walk out the door. "You need sleep, you can only burn the candle at both ends for so long babe. Take a deep breath, sit down, eat your sandwich. You're fine."

"Are you kidding me? I'm already 15 minutes late to my group meeting. They are probably pissed off, I've got to go." Jackie ran off and all but slammed the door on her way out.

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**As always, let me know what you think! Not sure how many chapters this will be. Maybe 3 or 4!**


	2. Killing Time

A/N: Thanks for the favorites/follows and what not! I appreciate it. This chapter is a bit shorter. Sorry.

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Jackie didn't even bother sending her group a text letting her know she was on her way. She just made a mad dash across campus and into the library where she found her group in one of the corners of the library.

"Hey guys, I'm so sorry I'm late. What can I do to help with the project?" She was hoping that if she offered to do a bit more on the project they would forgive her for her tardiness. After some discussion and delegating different parts of the paper Jackie offered to be the one who was in charge up putting the paper together and getting it professionally printed before the due date. She really didn't want to be stuck doing that, but she felt bad for being so late and it needed to get done. Truth be told, she really didn't trust any of her other group members to do it. When she walked out of the meeting she ran through a mental chick list of things she still needed to do. Her 'to do' list was quite long, but there wasn't anything that needed to be done at that moment. She wanted to work on her study guide and get some notes ready for tomorrow, but she decided that could wait until she had dinner. As she was walking back to her dorm she received a text from Catherine, '_You should come over after your group meeting, I have food :)'._

Jackie grinned and the thought of being able to spend time with Catherine tonight made her practically run to her house. As she was on her way, she sent a text back letting her know that she was on her way and that she was starving. When she was getting closer to the house she was suddenly feeling guilty for the way she had acted earlier. Jackie was normally a pretty level headed person, but the stress of everything was just starting to build up. She was passing by some rose bushes and decided to pick a few, hoping the small gesture would be accepted by Catherine. Jackie was greeted at the front door by Ethan and followed the amazing smell of roasting chicken into the kitchen.

"Hey, how was your meeting?" Catherine looked up from the cutting board and asked Jackie.

"Long, boring, pretty much the usual." Jackie responded and walked around the island to properly greet Catherine. "Do you want a sa" Catherine was cut off when Jackie put her hands on the older woman's face, leaned in and kissed her. Jackie wrapped her arms around Catherine's neck and hugged her as tightly as possible. "I'm sorry about today. I've just been so stressed out. I know I shouldn't take it out on you."

"I know Jacks, it's that time of the semester, things get crazy. But please know that I'm only trying to help. In hindsight, I should have woken you up for your meeting. I'm sorry too."

The timer went off and Catherine went and pulled the chicken out of the oven. Jackie put the flowers in a vase and poured some wine for the two of them. They made small talk as they ate dinner. Jackie stood up from the table and starting clearing the dishes. "Don't worry about those, I can do them later" Catherine responded as she took her plate to the sink.

Jackie nodded and asked "ok, I'm going to make some coffee, do you want any?"

"Really? It's almost 8pm? Are you sure you want to caffeine this late?" Catherine cared a lot about Jackie, she never wanted to seem controlling. But sometimes it came across that way.

"Yeah, I've got a list of things I want to work on, and I need caffeine to do that" Jackie said as she kissed Catherine on the cheek. "My first class isn't until 10am tomorrow, so I can work on some things tonight, and still get some sleep before starting again tomorrow."

"Are you going to do your studying here or go back to the library?" Catherine asked while starting to do the dishes.

"Well I was just thinking of doing them here, if that's ok. You don't have to be on campus till 9 tomorrow right?"

"Yup, I've got class at 9 then office hours after" Catherine started to explain before Jackie came over and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You know, the coffee takes a while to percolate…." Jackie said in between placing kisses on Catherine's neck.

"Hmmm…I wonder how we could kill some time?" Catherine grinned.

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Please let me know what you think! Also, I'm looking for a beta reader. If anyone has any suggestions let me know! Thanks!


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